Keep On Smiling
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 838a: Waiting for her father to work things out, Joanie is left in the care of Shelby and Beth.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 39th cycle. Now cycle 40!_

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><p><em><strong>INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - <strong>If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!  
>Go to: <span>gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet<span>_

_** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 40 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about **shift days**, starting in cycle 40!_

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><p><em><strong>This is a shift day [see above].<strong> There will be another upload this afternoon: The Ties That Bind, chapter 12._

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><p><strong>"Keep On Smiling"<br>Joanie & Beth, Shelby/Emmett  
>Extra to the Shelby &amp; Beth series, additional scenes for "One or the Other" <strong>

When she was younger, all Joanie wanted was a baby sister. Then as the years had passed and taken with them more and more of her parents' marriage, she came to decide it was better off that she remained an only child.

Then in came Shelby Corcoran and little Beth. From the start she had felt close to them, like they belonged in her life, always had. Finally, a mother-like figure who felt like it, finally… a sister.

And now her lifelong 'sisterly quest' had hit a brand new road block. That weekend she'd been in hell… at Nicole's, with her and the new husband. Usually this would involve her arriving, being told she could pick whatever she wanted to order for dinner, which in Nicole's eyes probably sounded like some big reward, but that Joanie knew just meant neither of them wanted to cook for her. She knew, because the moment she'd shown the ability to prepare her own meals, the charade had fallen by the wayside. And after that, she'd just hole up in her room with her books and read the weekend away… It was that or getting ignored to her face when it'd be time to go back home, she was always the first ready. She couldn't wait to be allowed to just take the bus, then she could leave earlier.

This time though there had been something different, not better, just… different. And then they'd gotten to the condo and she'd seen… boxes. Instantly she'd been on alert, waiting for the worse. They'd dragged the thing out until the next morning, and then it had been dropped down in a flash. They were moving to Arizona and they were intending to take her along. Joanie had accused her of only wanting to do it because it seemed like 'the motherly thing to do' and people would hold it against her if she didn't do it. She'd hit it right on the nose, if Nicole's expression was any indication. And so when Joanie had demanded to go home, her request was granted on the spot.

The moment she'd gone inside the house, as Emmett was outside with Nicole, her next thought had been to find Shelby and she'd made a beeline for the back door, run across and into the neighboring house, didn't stop until she was in Shelby's arms. Her heart hadn't dislodged from her throat to let her breathe until her father had said he'd work to prevent Nicole from taking her. She still had to wait. She'd gone and sat with Beth in her lap, concentrated to look happy for her sake.

"You have to stop kicking those socks off, okay? No matter how cute your toes are," she grasped at Beth's feet, wiggling them and getting giggles for it. "When you're older we can put nail polish on your toe nails, get you some cute little sandals, but right now, socks on, okay?" she smirked, putting the pink and white striped socks back on her feet. The way she turned those bright eyes on her, it was as though she was checking, preparing to go for the socks again, reaching her hand out. Joanie made exaggerated gasping faces, as though to say 'you wouldn't,' which only made Beth more excited and amused. "Okay, okay, fine, you win, you twisted my arm," she declared, all the while kicking off her shoes and using her toes to push her socks nearly all the way off. "But you have to help me out of mine, okay?" she asked, presenting one foot and then the other, and the moment Beth saw each sock she practically lunged to pull on it. The half-pulled socks came off easily by her pull, and with each new set of toes wriggling free she squealed. Soon all four of their feet were bare. "Good thing it's nice and warm in here, right?" she raised her feet to the foot stool, folded legs creating a back rest for Beth so she could have her facing toward her, her hands grasped in her own.

She couldn't imagine her life without her… She called her 'sis,' and no one even blinked. Her father and Shelby were just friends, yes, even if Joanie knew they were crazy about each other. But despite that, she and Beth, in her eyes and others' no doubt, were sisters. And for all the fears she had not to have Shelby anymore, she had them again, for Beth.

She had cousins, little ones about Beth's age, not one of them was in her life in any significant way, so when she saw them again it was a matter, once again, to introduce herself, and it was hard to make any sort of connection until they were much older.

Beth knew her. Sure, they lived next door to each other, saw each other just about daily, so it helped, but still the way Beth's face lit up when she saw her, it was special.

If she left now, sure they'd try and keep in touch, but she knew eventually Beth would forget her. It wouldn't be her fault or anything, but… she'd lose her, in a new and absolutely worse way.

Sitting there with her, seeing Beth's everlasting smiles, sometimes she'd almost forget why she was there that day. Then she'd remember, and those smiles would make her want to cry.

"Hey…" she looked back and saw Shelby standing there. She was trying not to look concerned, too, but Joanie could tell she was. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really… Well, I am, but every time I think about actually eating…"

"I could order pizza, and even if it doesn't get eaten right away, you eat it cold anyway," Shelby smiled at her.

"Okay," Joanie agreed. "Don't forget…"

"No mushroom, I know, I know," Shelby told her as she went to call. Joanie's indecisive hunger had chosen a side the moment the scent of the pizza gained the house. She had three slices.

They were not talking about what was happening. Every so often though, Shelby would catch Joanie looking out the window into the one from her house. They could see Emmett pacing back and forth, the phone permanently pressed to his ear. At least eating gave her something to focus on. In that spirit, to recover from the pizza they had turned to a long-standing Shelby-Joanie tradition… musicals.

Joanie kept Beth back in the same position she'd had her in the end, feet on the footstool. If she was looking at the screen she still played with her hands. As she'd seen those many times now – Shelby had gone straight for the favorites – she did tend to look at Beth and listen to the movie, 'singing' along for Beth's enjoyment. She loved how excited Beth would get over her dramatics, never failed…

When Beth had gotten sleepy, Joanie had agreed to get her back in her crib. When they'd returned to the couch, Shelby had held out her arm and Joanie gladly let herself be held, her head to the woman's shoulder. "You'll be okay…" Shelby had whispered, kissing the top of her head. It was all she said on the matter, didn't expect a reply, and that was it… it was all she needed.

And then it was dinner time. Emmett could still be seen on the phone as Shelby and Joanie sat to the second – now cold – pizza they had ordered along with the first. Shelby had re-heated hers, not yet a 'convert' to the cold pizza just yet. The fact that they were back here and that Emmett was still on the phone couldn't do much for either of their nerves.

After dinner, returning to the couch had included a warming presence in the form of panda, who lay cozily at Joanie's side, later falling asleep with her. Joanie would close her eyes, wishing any and all that would hear her, for them not to take her away from any of them…

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>******always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!******


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